


Marco

by Incognit0_Hand_Jive



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Mass Effect 1, early shakarian, pre romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 00:21:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9047114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Incognit0_Hand_Jive/pseuds/Incognit0_Hand_Jive
Summary: Shepard wakes up from a bad dream and looks to talk to favorite turian to ease her mind. Pre shakarian.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing fan-fic so I'm open to criticism. There may be more to come but in no particular order.

Panic.  _ Stay calm! Stay calm! Fuck, I have to stay calm!  _ Heart rate rises. Chest hurts.  _ I can’t breath!  _ Pounding. Hands clawing. Armour growing tight.  _ Ga- _   
  


Shepard’s eyes finally popped open. She was breathing heavy, her muscles clenched and her body was sprinkled in tiny beads of sweat. Seeing where she was, on the slightly less than hard mattress pad she called her bed, she relaxed and let herself absorb into the room around her. She took a deep, confirming breath. However the sound of it almost startled her in the quiet space of her bunk. 

 

_ It was a dream. Just another one of those damned dreams. _

 

Everything was so quiet around this time. If she tried hard enough she could hear the rhythmic hum of the Normandy and the light whirl of a console left unattended somewhere down the hall. Most of the lighting was dimmed to simulate night to help maintain a sense of time for the human crew. Running along the base of the slate grey walls were small lights illuminating a subtle blue glow. It was calming. It did it’s job.   
  


Shepard lay still as her heart settled. She stayed like that for a few moments before rolling her head to the side to see the time display.  _ 2:28am, damn. _ She had barely been asleep for an hour. She was trying to get some rest before their next mission. But sleep was not for her. She reached down, her hand fumbling under her bunk.  _ Come on where are you? ...Sock? No. ....Trash. ...Hair tie? Yes! but no. Ah, gotcha! _ She pulled out her omni-tool and placed it back on her wrist to send a quick message. Once it was on, the orange light nearly blinded her.  _ Uhg, every damn time. _

_  
_ _ -Awake?- _ One simple word was all Shepard had to send. Garrus knew the commander well enough. She didn’t have to send him a lengthy message for him to know what she wanted or what was troubling her. And she knew him just as well. Some found their relationship odd. Ashley, for example, gave her commander an unusually hard time about it. “You’re the first human Specter! You are the biggest symbol for humanity right now. You know, securing our place in this galaxy and all that. And your best friend, of all the races out there, in this whole damned galaxy, is a… Turian. A Turian! Shepard I question your judgement sometimes.” Ashley ends her rant with a slight smirk at the commander and it will only be another three days before Shepard has to hear it again. Though if she never does, she won't complain.

 

They both did have to admit that their relationship was a little unusual, though. From the moment Garrus stepped foot on the Normandy they became best friends.    
  
Shepard laid her head back, waiting to see if she’ll get a reply.  _ Come on, I know you’re awake. _ She glanced at the time again.  _ 2:34.  _ She heard a ping. - _ You know where to find me.- _ Her lips formed into a small smile as she read that. She sat up and slung her legs over the side of her bunk, resting her elbows on her knees. She let her head hang for a moment as her body caught up with her. She was sore. More than she expected to be. Not so much from the fighting but from the horrible mattress pad her back called home.  _ I don’t know what’s worse, the nightmares or this bed. _   
  


Her eyes squinted around the floor looking for the pants she peeled off a short time before. She grabbed the black and grey garment slumped in a pile with the rest of her previously worn casual attire. She gave them a quick whiff.  _ Eh, good enough. _ They smelled like the inside of the mako, a little stale with a hint of gun cleaner and sweat. Not necessarily unpleasant, but a familiar smell to any soldier. She pulled her pants on and slid her feet into her boots, however she didn’t bother with the shirt. A tank-top was comfortable enough. Besides, no one else is usually up this late into the night cycle.

 

\--------    
  
The elevator door quickly slid open with a hiss and Shepard stepped on, pressing the button for engineering. - _ Marco-,  _ she sent another message. Before the elevator doors opened again she heard another ping. - _ Marco?-  _ Shepard gave a sleepy chuckle, realizing Garrus had no idea what the old childhood game was. Another smile crossed her face.    
  
The doors opened and Shepard stepped out, scanning the area around the Mako for her Turian friend. She noticed Wrex and Ashley weren’t in sight. Most likely sleeping like the rest of her sane crew was. But she didn’t see Garrus either.   
  
Garrus was tucked under the Mako doing some repairs and adjustments before the team was due to head out. He had made himself a nice little space in the maintenance pit beneath the vehicle. It was probably the closest to private quarters anyone had on the ship. The underside of the vehicle made up half his ceiling with lighting running along the tops of the walls illuminating that same soft blue that was throughout the rest of the ship. The light glowed in his eyes which matched the color with more intensity. There were a few workbenches and tool boxes lining the walls the way bookcases would in a library. On top sat a few rifles, some taken apart to be fitted with mods Garrus was working on, and his armor (which was rarely ever off his body) was laid out to be cleaned and inspected for any damage before their mission. In the corner was a lift to adjust to whatever vehicle that would be above, but it currently sat at knee height with a few mattress pads and blankets thrown on top of it. In all honesty it looked more comfortable than anything else available to sleep on in the Normandy. It could almost pass as a full bed.   
  


The air down there was still and warm but not uncomfortable. The faint smell of gun cleaner and grease lingered in the air with something just beneath it. Something more metallic.   
  
The moment those elevator doors opened Garrus could smell her. He didn’t have to see her to know she was there. When he first met her she smelled like any other human. And unless a human smelled particularly bad, he wouldn’t be able to distinguish one by scent alone. But he became more attuned to Shapard. He can pick her out of a crowd now if need be. She was salty-sweet to him. 

_ Hmm,  _ there was a rumble in his chest.   
  


Garrus poked his head out from under the vehicle watching Shepard pace the area. His eyes brightened and mandibles spread. “Hey Sheppard. Look down”.    
“Uh… Garrus?” Shepard stood there looking down at the Turian’s head poking from behind a wheel of the mako. 

“Just get down here, Shep” he told her, his tone light.    
_ Down where?  _ She thought. Shepard climbed down under the mako and looked around surprised. She had no idea that space existed, however, the bulk of her shock came from how comfortable it looked.   
  
Garrus let himself watch her as she climbed down. He always thought that humans’ movements were awkward and clumsy. Almost like they didn’t know what to with their own limbs. But Shepard. He sees her natural, fluid movements backed by some sort of confidence in each step. In his eyes she moved like a predator. Like a Turian. He admired her greatly. As a soldier. As his commander. As his friend.

_ Hmm,  _ there was another rumble in his chest. 

He understood Kaidan and Liara’s obsessive, child-like crush on their commander. Even to a Turian she could be aesthetically pleasing.    
  


“Damn, Garrus!” Her expression broke his stare. “My bunk is an emptied maintenance closet with a pillow thrown in for comfort. You’re living like a damn king down here. You should've invited me down sooner for a sleepov-” 

 

She was too busy looking around the room to notice Garrus and his attire. Or lack thereof. He had his under armour on, which she had seen him in well over a dozen times. However this time was different. He only wore it from the waist down. He soiled his top half with an excessive amount of oil from the mako. A leak he had fixed a few hours ago. Shepard had never seen him bare before now. She was curious and hadn’t realized how hard she was staring. His muscles were surprisingly defined and visible under his plates, which weren’t as bulky as she was expecting by the term. He was lean and…  _ Interesting?  _ she thought.   
  
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Freaky alien.” Garrus assumed her sudden pause was just the usual human reaction to the rare sight of an unarmoured Turian, but the flush of color in her face caught him. Something he didn’t quite understand about humans.  “Shep, are you ok? You’re face is red.”   
She cleared her throat, “Yeah, I’m good. Was just expecting more scales, is all.”  _ And I’m just going to pretend I didn’t do that.  _   
“You may be confusing me with a salarian.” 

“Riiight…” She shifted to turn and sit on the bed.  _ Are you kidding me?! This thing is so much more comfortable than mine. _   
"Ok, Shep. Talk. You look more tired than usual. I'm worried about you. You’re sleeping less than I am."

 

_ Talk, right _ she thought.  _ Easier said than done _ "So what is this, Garrus? Rule number 247 of the Turian code broken: Commanding officers socializing with their subordinates in their bunks?"

"Shepard. Don't change the subject. You need to talk about it." He moved across the room and sat next to her on the makeshift bed. Maybe too close. Their arms were barely touching but it was enough for the both of them to notice. Their skin was touching and the contact almost startled him. 

_ Hmm… _ Another rumble in his chest.

After realizing just how close he was to the commander he nervously cleared his throat and shifted his weight, moving a few inches over with a brief apology. 

They've been in close contact before, nearly laying on top of each other behind small cover. But there was always armor between them.

 

_ He’s really warm. And did he just purr? _

 

They sat in silence for a moment before Shepard finally started talking. She told him about her nightmares and why she can't sleep. Usually her dreams are the dead faces of soldiers left behind. The people she sacrificed. Or moments in combat where she has seen horrific things and didn't think for a second she would be able to make it out alive. How after Akuze she spent many nights teasing her pistol against her head. Garrus’ heart ached at that thought. Once Shepard started talking she couldn't stop. She told Garrus all of this. She told him how her last dream felt more like a premonition. She should of died a long time ago and she was ready for it.   
  
A sense of shame washed over Shepard. She had never let anyone see her so weak before. Even so, if it had to be someone she was glad it was Garrus. Garrus, who after hearing his commander's words spill out, didn’t know what to say to comfort her. He didn’t have to say anything though. He felt her shaking. He turned to look at her.  _ Is she, oh what is that thing humans do, crying? She’s crying...  _ __  
__  
Garrus timidly wrapped an arm around the back of her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. Something he’s seen many humans do. But he was unsure if she would accept the contact, never knowing her to be in such a state. But he was willing to try. She turned into him, wrapping both arms around him and burying her face in his chest as she continued to sob. She found him warm and comfortable. He shifted slightly to accommodate her before doing the same with his other arm. He held her.    
  


Shepard felt weak in this moment but Garrus would not describe her as such. She felt soft to his touch. Delicate. Maybe even vulnerable. But not weak.  _ I will always have your six. I will protect you.  _ He thought. 

_ Hmm,  _ another rumble from his chest.   
“Uh, Garrus… Did you just purr?”   
_ Shit. _


End file.
